(Updated, 3:32 p.m.) The powerful Commission on Appointments (CA) on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of Commission and Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sheriff Abas.
The 39-year-old Abas became the first Muslim to be appointed at the helm of Comelec and the youngest to hold such position.
He first entered Comelec in 2015 when he was appointed as Comelec commissioner during the time of former President Noynoy Aquino.
Right after the CA unanimously approved his appointment as Comelec chair, Abas pledged to make the 2019 senatorial elections credible.
“Hangga’t kaya namin kasi mahirap din ‘yung election. Hangga’t kaya namin, we will assure na magiging credible ‘yung 2019 elections [As long as we can do it because the election is really hard. As long as we can do it, we will assure that the 2019 elections will be credible],” he told reporters.
The confirmation came a year ahead of the 2019 senatorial elections, after the country conducted the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections
Abas was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte on November 22, 2018, and his term will expire in February 2022.
READ: Duterte renominates Abas as Comelec chief
During the confirmation hearing, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri lauded Abas’ appointment, saying it manifests the government’s commitment to lasting process of development in Mindanao. /jpv
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